Wednesday, April 11, 2007

2007 Deep Focus Film Festival lineup

While I'm working on some reviews, how about a look at the press release announcing next weekend's Deep Focus Film Festival slate?

2007 alive! Deep Focus Film Festival to open with Waitress

Modern Classics, special presentations and more events added to ’07 schedule

Adrienne Shelly’s Waitress, a charming romantic comedy that was the talk of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, kicks off the third annual alive! Deep Focus Film Festival, April 19-22 at the Arena Grand Theatre in Columbus.

Waitress is one of 10 new independent films to be shown at this year’s event, and the festival’s celebration of great film has expanded to include anniversary screenings of modern classics from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, a special presentation of award-winning commercials, and a sports film selection chosen through an online poll.

“The Deep Focus Film Fest is chance for movie overs to see a lot of great films, to get a first look at some Ohio premieres, and also enjoy a fun weekend in the Arena District,” said alive! Managing Editor Brian Lindamood. “It’s part of our mission to help alive! readers make the most of city life—to have a great time and celebrate the best of Columbus arts and entertainment.”

Special EventsIn addition to the films, Deep Focus includes a variety of related events at venues around the Arena District, all with free admission for festival patrons.

Immediately following the Gala screening of Waitress on Thursday night, ticket holders are invited to a private after-party at TBD Tavern, 191 W. Nationwide Blvd., with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails courtesy of Grey Goose.

Before the Modern Classics screening of Moonstruck, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday, patrons are invited to a “Girls’ Night Out” happy hour with snack and drink specials at the Arena Grand Bar & Bistro.

Following the Friday night screening of Air Guitar Nation, moviegoers who present their ticket stub at the door of the Lodge Bar, 165 Vine St., receive free admission to a face-off between local air guitarists. Closet rockers can enter the contest at ColumbusAlive.com; the grand prize is a guitar provided by Guitar Center.

After the screening of Daniel Burman’s Family Law on Saturday, ticket holders are invited to join alive! sister publication Fronteras for a Latin dance party at Sugar Bar, 525 Park St.

Ticket PricesFor New Independent selections and World’s Best Commercials, tickets are $10 general admission; $8 for students with ID, seniors over 60, alive! City Card holders and Wexner Center members. Tickets for Modern Classics screenings and the Sports Film Spotlight are $5 each. Tickets are on sale now at the Arena Grand box office and online at ArenaGrand.com.

After the WeddingColumbus premiereDIR: Susanne BierSCR: Susanne Bier,Anders Thomas JensenCAST: Mads Mikkelsen, Rolf Lassgard, Sidse Babett KnudsenAn IFC Films releaseThe Brothers creative team of Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen return to the Deep Focus Fest with this Oscar-nominated Danish drama, in which an orphanage worker in India is forced to return home and face his difficult past.Screening Saturday, April 21, 5:45 p.m.

Air Guitar NationOhio premiereDIR: Alexandra LipsitzA Shadow Distribution releaseAlexandra Lipsitz’s hilarious yet respectful doc follows the first Americans to compete in the World Air Guitar Championship in Finland. Preceded by the short Blissful, by Columbus creative team LeftChannel.Screening Friday, April 20, 7 p.m.; and Sunday, April 22, 6 p.m.

Broken EnglishMidwest premiereDIR/SCR: Zoe CassavetesCAST: Parker Posey, Drea De Matteo, Gena Rowlands, Melvil PoupaudA Magnolia Pictures releaseZoe Cassavetes makes her filmmaking debut with this quirky comedy in which Parker Posey is a thirty-something New Yorker about to give up on romance, right about the same time a possible Mr. Right appears. Preceded by the short The Fixer, by Columbus filmmaker John Whitney.Screening Saturday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, April 22, 3:15 p.m.

Dare Not Walk AloneMidwest premiereDIR: Jeremy DeanA ThinkFilm releaseJeremy Dean uses amazing, never-before-seen archival footage of racial clashes in St. Augustine, Florida, America’s oldest city, to spotlight the role the town played in the passage of the Civil Rights Act and take a hard look at the legacy left behind.Screening Friday, April 20, 8 p.m.; Sunday, April 22, 5:30 p.m.

Family LawColumbus premiereDIR/SCR: Daniel BurmanCAST: Daniel Hendler, Arturo Goetz, Eloy Burman, Julieta DiazAn IFC First Take releaseFrom Argentine filmmaker Daniel Burman comes a lighthearted look at a successful man who finds that with the responsibilities of new parenthood comes a need to develop more respect for his own father.Screening Saturday, April 21, 8:30 p.m.

FidoDIR: Andrew CurrieSCR: Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie,CAST: Carrie-Ann Moss, Dylan Baker, Billy Connolly, Tim Blake NelsonA Lionsgate Films releaseCarrie-Ann Moss and Billy Connolly stand out in this retro zombie comedy about keeping up with the Joneses when most of the planet has been seized by the undead.Screening Saturday, April 21, 10:15 p.m.

PaprikaColumbus premiereDIR: Satoshi KonSCR: Satoshi Kon, Seishi MinakamiCAST (voice): Megumi Hayashibara, Toro Furuya, Koichi YamaderaA Sony Pictures Classics releaseSatoshi Kon’s mind-blowing anime feature centers on a research team’s hunt for a stolen device built to enter another person’s dreams, and the discovery of the more dangerous potential the device has in the wrong hands. Preceded by a sampler of work in progress by time-based media students at Columbus College of Art andDesign.Screening Saturday, April 21, 8 p.m.

Closing Night Selection: The Hip Hop ProjectColumbus premiereDIR: Matt RuskinA ThinkFilm releaseExecutive produced by Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, this inspiring documentary captures a New York City program that channels teens’ true life experiences into powerful hip hop.Screening Sunday, April 22, 7:30 p.m.

Special presentations“World’s Best Commercials”This crowd-pleasing program presents award-winning commercials from the Cannes International Ad Festival.Screening Saturday, April 21, 6 p.m.; Sunday, April 22, 4 p.m.

Sports Film SpotlightBy online poll on ColumbusAlive.com and 1460theFan.com, Boaz Yakin’s 2000 gridiron drama Remember the Titans was selected as the sports film Columbus movie lovers would most like to see on the big screen.Screening Sunday, April 22, 3 p.m.

Additional program updates will be announced in the coming days. For more information, including trailers, click to DeepFocusFilmFest.com.

***************alive! is a weekly entertainment newspaper published by the Dispatch Printing Company and distributed throughout central Ohio. For more information about alive! including a complete list of distribution locations, visit ColumbusAlive.com.

The Dispatch Printing Company is a privately held, family-owned, media organization whose affiliates include The Columbus Dispatch, WBNS-10TV, the Ohio News Network, Mix 97.1, Sports Radio 1460 The Fan, Dispatch Digital, ThisWeek Community Newspapers, alive!, Fronteras, Radio Sound Network, On Target Marketing/TheBAG and Columbus Parent in Columbus; WTHR-TV and WALV-CA in Indianapolis, Indiana; and Dispatch Interactive Television in Columbus and Indianapolis.

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About Me

I'm a film critic who discusses current cinema on the podcast Filmbound. I was the co-producer and co-host of the cable TV movie review program Now Playing from 1997 to 2017. My work has also appeared in the Nashville Scene and at DVDMon.com and The Film Journal. I'm a member of the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) I have served as a programmer for the Deep Focus Film Festival and a juror for the Columbus International Film and Video Festival. I'm employed as Assistant Director of Television, in charge of Production, at Otterbein University.